Powerball Winning Numbers: How To Check And Claim $700M Lottery Jackpot

UPDATE: 140 a.m. EDT — Powerball officials said late Wednesday that a single winning ticket was sold in Massachusetts. However, the officials did not mention the exact location. Wednesday’s prize money reached $758 million after no winners were announced since June 14 drawing.

Original Story

The winning numbers for Wednesday's $700 million Powerball jackpot are 7-26-16-23-6 with a Powerball number of 4 and Powerplay number of 4. This is the second largest jackpot in the history of the United States.

In order to win the jackpot, ticket holders must have all five numbers on the white balls — in any order — along with the special red Powerball number. According to USAMega.com, in order to claim your prize, you need to sign the back of your ticket and take it to an authorized lottery sales agent for validation. In case you win the jackpot or anything above $599, you may need to fill in a claim form and send it to the state's lottery commission.

The winning tickets must be claimed within the validity period and this can be done only in the state where you purchased the tickets. Here is a list of states along with the validity period, as the number varies according to the state.

Since the June 14 drawing, Powerball has seen no jackpot winner, with prize money reaching $700 million for Wednesday's drawing. If there are no winners for the latest drawing, the prize will rise to $1 billion.

Lottery site USAMega.com gave out few tips for those who may beat the one in 292.2 million odds of winning the $700 million jackpot. It is advisable to take the lump sum payment of $443.3 million. The federal government would claim 25 percent of the jackpot (foreigners get taxed 30 percent). After local taxes, the winner will get something in between $300 million and $332 million.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever was $1.6 billion that was split three ways in January 2016.

Even if you didn't win the jackpot, you must check your tickets as you could win $1 million for matching the five regular balls (1 in 38 odds) or match the Powerball for a $4 prize. Twitter users reacted after the Powerball numbers for Wednesday were drawn with some expressing disappointment for not matching the numbers.

So far, there have been four Powerball winners in 2017, and two among them opted to remain anonymous. California resident Jeff Lindsay claimed the winning Powerball ticket June 10 and received an annuity of $447.8 million.

"We are obviously thrilled with this tremendous stroke of good luck and are still getting our arms around what it means for us," Lindsay told Powerball June 10.

"We are private people and do not want to change who we are or become public figures and ask that people appreciate and respect our privacy," Lindsay's family told Powerball. "In order to help manage what has already been a somewhat overwhelming process, we have engaged a number of financial, legal and other advisors to guide us and help us make the best decisions possible."

"Once things calm down, we plan on working closely with our team of advisors to determine how to properly manage and invest this newfound wealth to ensure that we can support our family and causes that are important to us for many generations to come," they added.